Stone the Crows "Teenage Licks"

Reviewed by Ian Rush Polydor

Stone The Crows are a British rock group fronted by Maggie Bell on vocals. She has been compared to the late Janis Joplin, but Maggie Bell's vocals have a charm and sincerity not always evident with Joplin. This L.P. is the third released by this group, and certainly they are more polished and tight knit in playing. The current line up is Les Harvey (guitar), Steve Thompson (bass), Ronnie Leahy (Keyboards), Colin Allern (percussion). Musically the band are showing more progressive, driving riffs than formerly. There is much less influence of soul music Which was evident in earlier albums.

Most of the tracks on the album comprise original material In fact the other two tracks Dont Think Twice (Dylan) and Ailen Mochree (Scottish traditional) are probably the least effective tracks on the record. Keep On Rollin is a straightforward rock song, in the Delaney/Bonnie style, in which The Beat goes on. One Five Eight is probably the best track which opwns with electronic spacey sounds, followed by fuzzed out guitar and powerful vocals from Bell. The track has an evil funky feel and good lyrics. One Five Eight was written by the groups former Organist. I may be right, I may be wrong is another simple rocker; a good time un-complicated song which would probably appeal to those who like Delaney/Leon Russell/Joe Cocker type music.

Stone The Crows present an exciting, driving type of rock music. Although an accomplished and tight group the emphasis of the musicians is always to provide a solid background of rhythm and to feature the powerful voice of Maggie Bell. There are no lead-breaks or freak-outs but plenty of driving solid rock sounds suited equally for listening or moving to.

Stone The Crows still retain the driving solid percussive background of sould music yet they have also a subtlness and artistry which make them one of the best bands in Britain today.